New York City business activity contracted for a second time in July after May's bounce, according to the survey taken by the National Association of Purchasing Management-New York (NAPM-NY). The Current Business Conditions index came in at 48.3 in July from 44.8 in June.

Purchasing and supply management executives' confidence in recovery persisted and improved. The Six-Month Outlook index stayed above 50 for the fifth straight month, rising to 59.3 in July from 58.3 in June. ...

Real gross domestic product -- the output of goods and services produced by labor and property located in the United States -- decreased at an annual rate of 1.0 percent in the second quarter of 2009, (that is, from the first quarter to the second), according to the "advance" estimate released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. In the ...

Compensation costs for civilian workers increased 0.4 percent, seasonally adjusted, for the 3-month period ending June 2009, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Wages and salaries--which make up about 70 percent of compensation--also increased 0.4 percent for the 3-month period ending June 2009. Benefit costs--which make up ...

Tenth District manufacturing activity was largely flat in July as firms continued to trim inventories, and expectations remained fairly stable following last month’s increase. Price indexes in the survey eased after rising marginally last month.

The net percentage of firms reporting month-over-month increases in production in July was 2, down from 9 in June, but up from -3 in May. Production edged higher among durable goods producers, but decreased in non-durable goods plants, particularly for food and chemicals. ...

For the week ending July 18, 2009, the DJ-BTMU U.S. Business Barometer declined by another -0.6 percent on top of -1.4 percent in the prior week proving that getting the economic recovery off and running remains a very hard-fought battle. Truck and lumber production weighed most on the barometer in the latest week as these embattled ...

In the week ending July 25, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 584,000, an increase of 25,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 559,000. The 4-week moving average was 559,000, a decrease of 8,250 from the previous week's revised average of ...

Reports from the 12 Federal Reserve Districts suggest that economic activity continued to be weak going into the summer, but most Districts indicated that the pace of decline has moderated since the last report or that activity has begun to stabilize, albeit at a low level. Five Districts used the words "slow", "subdued", or "weak" to ...

New orders for manufactured durable goods in June decreased $4.1 billion or 2.5 percent to $158.6 billion, the U.S. Census Bureau announced today. This decrease followed two consecutive monthly increases including a 1.3 percent May increase. Excluding transportation, new orders increased 1.1 percent. Excluding defense, new orders decreased ...

The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) today released its Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending July 17, 2009. The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, was 528.9, an increase of 2.8 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from 514.4 one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index increased ...

In July, the seasonally adjusted manufacturing index — our broadest measure of manufacturing activity — jumped to 14 from June's reading of 6. Among the index's components, shipments leaped 14 points to 16, new orders rose eight points to finish at 24, and the jobs index edged up one point to end ...

The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index™, which had retreated in June, declined further in July. The Index now stands at 46.6 (1985=100), down from 49.3 in June. The Present Situation Index decreased to 23.4 from 25.0 last month. The Expectations Index declined to 62.0 from 65.5 ...

Data through May 2009, released today by Standard & Poor’s for its S&P/Case-Shiller1 Home Price Indices, the leading measure of U.S. home prices, show that, although still negative, the annual rate of decline of the 10-City and 20-City Composites improved for the fourth consecutive month ...

The International Council of Shopping Centers and Goldman Sachs Retail Chain Store Sales Index rose 1% in the week ended Saturday from its level a week before on a seasonally adjusted, comparable-store basis. On a year-on-year basis, retailers saw sales decline 0.5% in the latest ...

The Chicago Fed Midwest Manufacturing Index (CFMMI) decreased 0.3% in June, to a seasonally adjusted level of 78.1 (2002 = 100). Revised data show the index was down 3.0% in May, to 78.3. The Federal Reserve Board’s industrial production index for manufacturing (IPMFG) was down 0.6% in June. Regional output in June declined 25.2% from a ...

Declines in Texas manufacturing continued to moderate in July, according to business executives responding to the Texas Manufacturing Outlook Survey. Nearly all indexes of current factory activity posted seasonal declines; however, seasonally adjusted data soon to be released suggest the rate of contraction has slowed.

Sales of new one-family houses in June 2009 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 384,000, according to estimates released jointly today by the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. This is 11.0 percent (±13.2%)* above the revised May rate of 346,000, but is 21.3 percent (±11.4%) below the June ...

Consumer confidence slipped in July as consumers anticipated that their personal finances would improve more slowly than they had anticipated several months ago. While consumers believe the economic free-fall is now over, consumers see little reason to believe that the economic stimulus package will improve their finances anytime soon. ...

Existing-home sales rose for the third consecutive month with inventory easing and home prices declining less sharply in June, according to the National Association of Realtors®.

Existing-home sales – including single-family, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops – increased 3.6 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate1 of 4.89 million units in June from a downwardly revised pace of 4.72 million in May, but are 0.2 percent lower than the 4.90 ...

Employers took 2,763 mass layoff actions in June that resulted in the separation of 279,231 workers, seasonally adjusted, as measured by new filings for unemployment insurance benefits during the month, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. Each action involved at least 50 persons from a single ...

In the week ending July 18, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 554,000, an increase of 30,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 524,000. The 4-week moving average was 566,000, a decrease of 19,000 from the previous week's revised average of ...

The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) today released its Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending July 17, 2009. The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, was 528.9, an increase of 2.8 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from 514.4 one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index increased ...

The Chicago Fed National Activity Index was –1.80 in June, up from –2.30 in May. All four broad categories of indicators continued to make negative contributions to the index, with employment and housing-related indicators accounting for much of the weakness in June.

The three-month moving average, CFNAI-MA3, was –2.12 in June, up from –2.65 in the previous month. June’s CFNAI-MA3 suggests that growth in national economic activity was well below its historical trend. With regard to inflation, the amount of economic slack reflected in ...

The International Council of Shopping Centers and Goldman Sachs Retail Chain Store Sales Index rose 0.5% in the week ended Saturday from its level a week before on a seasonally adjusted, comparable-store basis. On a year-on-year basis, retailers saw sales decline 0.3% in the latest ...

The Conference Board LEI for the U.S. increased for the third consecutive month in June. Most of the components contributed positively to the index this month except real money supply* and manufacturers' new orders for nondefense capital goods*. The six-month change in the index has risen to 2.0 percent (a 4.1 percent annual rate) in the ...

BUILDING PERMITS
Privately-owned housing units authorized by building permits in June were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 563,000. This is 8.7 percent (±3.0%) above the revised May rate of 518,000, but is 52.0 percent (±3.6%) below the June 2008 estimate of 1,174,000. Single-family authorizations in June were at a rate of 430,000; this ...

Builder confidence in the market for newly built, single-family homes notched up two points in July to its highest level since September 2008, according to the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI), released today. The HMI rose two points to 17 in July as builders saw an improvement in current ...

The region's manufacturing sector is still experiencing weakness, according to firms polled for this month's Business Outlook Survey. Indexes for general activity, new orders, and shipments all registered negative readings this month, although the indexes' levels remained above their average readings for the year. Firms also report ...

For the week ending July 5, 2009, the DJ-BTMU U.S. Business Barometer gained another +0.7 percent on top of +0.8 percent in the prior week. The business barometer is being greatly affected by vehicle production because early plant closings in May and June, prompted by the bankruptcies of Chrysler and GM, means that in the absence of ...

In the week ending July 11, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 522,000, a decrease of 47,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 569,000. The 4-week moving average was 584,500, a decrease of 22,500 from the previous week's revised average of ...

Industrial production decreased 0.4 percent in June after having fallen 1.2 percent in May. For the second quarter as a whole, output fell at an annual rate of 11.6 percent, a more moderate contraction than in the first quarter, when output fell 19.1 percent. Manufacturing output moved down 0.6 percent in June, with declines at both durable ...

The Empire State Manufacturing Survey indicates that conditions for New York manufacturers were flat in July. The general business conditions index increased to a level close to zero, rising 9 points, to -0.6. The new orders index rose above zero for the first time in several months, and the shipments index also climbed into positive ...

The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) increased 0.9 percent in June before seasonal adjustment, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. Over the last 12 months the index has fallen 1.4 percent, as a 25.5 percent decline in the energy index has more than offset increases of 2.1 percent ...

Real average weekly earnings fell by 1.2 percent from May to June after seasonal adjustment, according to preliminary data released today by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor. This decrease stemmed from a 0.3 percent decrease in average weekly hours and a 0.9 increase in the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage ...

The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) today released its Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending July 10, 2009. The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, was 514.4, an increase of 4.3 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from 493.1 one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index ...

The U.S. Census Bureau announced today that the combined value of distributive trade sales and manufacturers' shipments for May, adjusted for seasonal and trading-day differences but not for price changes, was estimated at $966.1 billion, down 0.1 percent (±0.2%)* from April 2009 and down 17.8 percent (±0.5%) from ...

The Producer Price Index for Finished Goods rose 1.8 percent in June, seasonally adjusted, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. This advance followed increases of 0.2 percent in May and 0.3 percent in April. At the earlier stages of processing, prices received by producers of intermediate goods climbed ...

The U.S. Census Bureau announced today that advance estimates of U.S. retail and food services sales for June, adjusted for seasonal variation and holiday and trading-day differences, but not for price changes, were $342.1 billion, an increase of 0.6 percent (±0.5%) from the previous month, but 9.0 percent (±0.7%) below June 2008. Total sales ...

The International Council of Shopping Centers and Goldman Sachs Retail Chain Store Sales Index fell 0.9% in the week ended Saturday from the week before on a seasonally adjusted, comparable-store basis. On a year-on-year basis, retailers' sales declined 0.7% in the latest ...

The Nation's international deficit in goods and services decreased to $26.0 billion in May from $28.8 billion (revised) in April, as exports increased and imports decreased.

Goods and Services
Exports increased to $123.3 billion in May from $121.4 billion in April. Goods were $82.1 billion in May, up from $80.0 billion in April, and services were $41.3 billion in May, down from $41.4 billion in April. ...

The U.S. Import Price Index rose 3.2 percent in June, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today, led by higher petroleum prices. The June increase followed a 1.4 percent advance in May. Export prices also increased in June, rising 1.1 percent after advancing 0.5 percent in the ...

For the week ending June 27, 2009, the DJ-BTMU U.S. Business Barometer posted its largest weekly gain since early January, jumping +0.8 percent and finishing the second quarter of 2009 on a strong note. Indeed, although the business barometer continued to decline in the second quarter it did so at half the pace compared to the first quarter of ...

The U.S. Census Bureau announced today that May 2009 sales of merchant wholesalers, except manufacturers’ sales branches and offices, after adjustment for seasonal variations and trading-day differences but not for price changes, were $311.3 billion, up 0.2 percent (+/-0.5%)* from the revised April level, but were down 19.9 percent (+/-1.4%) ...

In the week ending July 4, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 565,000, a decrease of 52,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 617,000. The 4-week moving average was 606,000, a decrease of 10,000 from the previous week's revised average of ...

Consumer credit decreased at an annual rate of 1-1/2 percent in May 2009. Revolving credit decreased at an annual rate of 3-3/4 percent, and nonrevolving credit decreased at an annual rate of 1/4 percent.

The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) today released its Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending July 3, 2009, which was a shortened week due to the Independence Day holiday. This week’s results include an adjustment to account for the holiday. The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, was ...

The International Council of Shopping Centers and Goldman Sachs Retail Chain Store Sales Index edged up 0.1% in the week ended Saturday from its level a week before on a seasonally adjusted, comparable-store basis. On a year-on-year basis, retailers saw sales rise 0.5% in the latest ...

The NMI (Non-Manufacturing Index) registered 47 percent in June, 3 percentage points higher than the 44 percent registered in May, indicating contraction in the non-manufacturing sector for the ninth consecutive month, but at a slower rate.

For the week ending June 20, 2009, the DJ-BTMU U.S. Business Barometer increased +0.1 percent finally stemming the steep drops in the prior two weeks. In the latest week consumers stepped up their home buying activity and went to the movies. Mortgage applications have picked up alongside home affordability and movies tend to offer at least a ...

New orders for manufactured goods in May, up three of the last four months, increased $4.1 billion or 1.2 percent to $347.9 billion, the U.S. Census Bureau reported today. This followed a 0.5 percent April increase. Excluding transportation, new orders increased 0.8 ...